1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is hydro-demolition devices and methods for removing lining material from within pipe segments, particularly pipe segments used in pipeline applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Hydro-demolition—or hydraulic demolition—is a well known art practiced by forcing a liquid, typically water, through one or more nozzles at sufficiently high pressure to produce a jet stream that erodes or disintegrates the constituent material, such as concrete and the like, of which buildings and other structures are made.
The use of various materials to line conduits such as pipelines and the like is well known and essential in many industries. For instance, in the field of piping crude or diluted bitumen from tar sands extraction to a storage facility or refinery, the internal surface of the metal pipe segments (each segment being typically 50 feet in length) that comprise the pipeline are often lined with a layer of a rubber compound (usually about 0.25 inches thick) that is adhered to the metal on the inside of the pipe, followed by a urethane layer (usually about 0.75 inches thick) that is adhered to the rubber layer. In other applications, the lining material may vary in thickness, composition or in other aspects. The lining of the pipelines wears or deteriorates over time, and it becomes necessary to periodically remove and replace the affected pipe segments in the pipeline. It would be advantageous to be able to remove the worn lining from the affected pipe segment so that it can be remanufactured with a replacement lining or reused as an unlined pipe segment in other applications. Consequently, a system and a method are needed to quickly and efficiently remove the lining material from pipe segments.
The present invention is such a system and method that employs hydro-demolition techniques and novel equipment in order to exploit the power of hydro-demolition.